Te’o wants to keep a low profile when vets arrive

But he knows everything changes when the veterans show up today, and his long road to assimilation into an NFL locker room begins.

As much as his playing ability, his fitting in will be a storyline this year after rolling into San Diego on a tsunami of attention about the fake dead girlfriend thing.

“You’ve just got to keep your head down,” Te’o said, via Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego. “Know you’re a rookie. Keep your head down; keep your head in the playbook. Work hard. Show that you really care about what you’re doing, about your job.

“Obviously, you’ve got to earn the respect of the veterans. That will come in time, I’m sure. But with what I’m going to do and with my work ethic, that will come soon.”

Te’o’s hope is that the jokes stop after a short time, and he can earn respect with his play. The Chargers administration obviously thinks he’s deserving.

But after a weekend of running drills with fellow rookies, running the gauntlet of veterans ready to use the comedic material they’ve been saving will be different.

I have hope that the Chargers will treat this situation with a sense of profrssionalism unlike the clusterf*ck that is and always will be the New York Jets. I like that Teo is keeping a low profile as he knows he has so much to prove. Hopefully the media won’t torture the fans by covering him 24/7/365.

Be a willing rider of the Notre Dame Hype Machine. Create a dead girlfriend and milk it for all it’s worth to try to get a Heisman Trophy. Get steamrollered in the biggest game of your career, leaving buttprints in the turf as you get leveled time after time by the opposing team’s offensive linemen and running backs. Get found out on the girlfriend front, too, and claim victimhood.

That Charger vets will ride Te’o as a running prop is but a foregone conclusion. The intensity and frequency of the jokes will not only be determined by Manti’s skin or lack thereof, but of his ability to embed himself as a vital cog in San Diego’s young defense.